 I was watching my parents (in their late seventies) trying to read the newspaper the other day and my father finally admitted his vision had been a bit blurry lately, even with glasses. As I am no eye specialist myself I decided it would be a very good time for both of them to get a professional check up.
Naturally, when looking after your family you want the best treatment and a good diagnosis. I wanted somewhere with the latest technology and a caring service and I found Figtree Eye Care. They looked after my parents, taking them in one by one for their tests and a full explanation on their eye health was given to me after the consultation.
I am telling you this as I learnt that technology has dramatically changed in eye care. The tests now available to you can give you much more than just reading glasses. The testing now available at Figtree Eye Care can give a clearer picture with your eye health and can also refer you to an eye specialist if need be. A copy of the report can also be sent to your family doctor on request.
I asked the optometrist to provide some information so that everyone can be aware of what is available. I hope this article helps provide some info on the specialties optometry (and Figtree Eye Care) can provide to the general community. Please read on.
Optometry today, more than ever, is equipped with modern technology that delivers a complete or total eye care service to the community. Such technology is important in providing the community with the highest level of service available.
Optometry practices, including Figtree Eye Care, have invested in new equipment with the latest technology. Such equipment includes retinal cameras, visual field analysers and corneal topographers. The benefits of this “new technology” will be outlined over the next few articles. This new technology is not completely new technology. In fact a lot of the equipment has been around for a while and until recently has been very expensive and limited to those who can afford it. The technology has finally become affordable and optometry practices of all sizes are able to invest in this new level of care.
A digital retinal camera offers high quality images of the retina. The instrument is compact and lightweight. The images are instantaneous, unlike the previous cameras that used film and required time for developing. The images are viewed on a computer.
A digital retinal camera takes an image or photo of the back of the eye through the pupil. The procedure is simple, quick and painless. There is a bright flash when the photo is taken and the after flash wears off very quickly. With the new digital cameras available no drops are required to enlarge the pupil.
The digital photo provides a detailed image of your fundus (retina). From the image the health of the retina can be assessed accurately and efficiently by your optometrist.
The optometrist will assess the retina (the layer at the back the eye that is responsible for us seeing), the optic nerve (where all the nerves come together and exit the eye to the brain) and the macular (a special part of the retina responsible for our detailed vision).The digital image of the retina helps the optometrist diagnose and monitor diseases that affect the back of the eye.
Optometrists in particular check for Macular Degeneration, a condition that affects the macula that causes a loss of central vision. Glaucoma is a disease that affects the optic nerve where the nerve is slowly and progressively destroyed. As a result, the peripheral vision of the person is destroyed. Diabetes is a condition that can affect the whole of the retina. Digital retinal cameras are a very useful tool to show changes caused by diabetes.
Digital retinal cameras are now the new standard in checking the back of the eye but unfortunately the procedure, not being covered by Medicare, may incur a fee. The camera provides invaluable information about your eyes and the information can be stored and used in the future to check for any changes. Also, the photos can be emailed to you or burned to disc and even saved to a flash drive for you to keep a copy on your home computer.
In the near future such images may even be used to assess the risk of heart disease. I am told a doctor in Melbourne is developing a procedure that uses the images from a retinal camera to help see if a person is at risk of having a cardiovascular problem. | 
